South Shore movie theaters among thousands offering $3 tickets on Saturday
This Saturday, movie tickets will be just $3 at theaters on the South Shore as part of a newly launched “National Cinema Day” to lure moviegoers during a quiet spell at the box office.
The Cinema Foundation, a non-profit arm of the National Association of Theater Owners, designated Sept. 3 as a nationwide discount day in more than 3,000 theaters and on more than 30,000 screens. Major chains, including AMC and Regal Cinemas, are participating, as are all major film studios. In participating theaters, tickets will be no more than $3 for every showing, in every format, including IMAX.
Movie review: 'Top Gun: Maverick' soars with heart, nostalgia and action
Participating South Shore theaters include the Cameo in Weymouth, Patriot Cinemas at the Hingham Shipyard and downtown at Loring Hall, AMC in Braintree, Regal Cinemas at the Kingston Collection and Showcase Cinemas in Randolph.
Movies to see include a re-release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” with 11 minutes of additional footage, including a new post-credits scene, and the summer blockbusters “Elvis” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” Loring Hall has the indie gems “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” and "Marcel the Shell With Shoes On," from Milton actress Jenny Slate. Braintree and Kingston are showing new titles such as “Honk For Jesus: Save Your Soul” and “Gigi & Nate.” Randolph is screening "Jaws" in its IMAX house along with the hits “Bullet Train” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
'Marcel the Shell With Shoes On': Milton's Jenny Slate voices tiny hero with a huge heart
Labor Day weekend is traditionally one of the slowest weekends in theaters. This year, the August lull has been especially acute for exhibitors. Cineworld, which owns Regal Cinemas, cited the scant supply of major new releases in its recent plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
But, if successful, National Cinema Day could flood theaters with moviegoers and potentially prompt them to return in the fall. Before each showing, ticket buyers will be shown a sizzle reel of upcoming films from A24, Amazon Studios, Disney, Focus Features, Lionsgate, Neon, Paramount, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony, United Artists Releasing, Universal, and Warner Bros.
Movie review: Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock ride the 'Bullet Train'
"After this summer’s record-breaking return to cinemas, we wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing,” said Jackie Brenneman, Cinema Foundation president, in a statement. “We’re doing it by offering a ‘thank you’ to the moviegoers that made this summer happen, and by offering an extra enticement for those who haven’t made it back yet.”
After more than two years of pandemic, movie theaters rebounded significantly over the summer, seeing business return to nearly pre-pandemic levels. Films like “Top Gun: Maverick,”“Minions: Rise of Gru,”“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and “Jurassic World Dominion" pushed the domestic summer box office to $3.3 billion in ticket sales as of Aug. 21, according to data firm Comscore. That trails 2019 totals by about 20% but exhibitors have had about 30% fewer wide releases this year.
Movie review: Austin Butler shakes, rattles and rolls in Baz Luhrmann's 'Elvis' biopic
Organizers of National Cinema Day described the event as a trial that could become an annual fixture. While some other countries have experimented with a similar day of cheap movie tickets, the initiative is the first of its kind on such a large scale in the U.S.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. Please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: South Shore movie theaters among thousands to offer $3 tickets Sept. 3